The Internet of Things (IoT) may be described as a network of physical objects or “things” embedded with various types of electronics, software, sensors, logic, circuitry, etc., that can collect and exchange data. A “thing” (also referred to herein as a “machine-type communication (MTC) device”) may connect to a service hosted on the Internet indirectly (e.g., via another network device, such as a coordinator, a gateway, etc.) or directly. The number of MTC devices is projected to grow exponentially in the years ahead. For network service providers, MTC support involves providing network services at a low cost and supporting millions or even billions of MTC devices. Current network resource allocation and management systems are inadequate to meet these demands in a cost-effective way.